Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Could the Minister point out, like, some kind of -- some of those high level investments that meet the recommendations of the after action report. Like, the most significant pieces in this list that could help meet those -- the new -- or the need that's left unfilled that's called for in the report. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I think that's a much more useful -- useful metric because then we can -- we can factor it into those larger emissions pictures as we look for -- you know, actively seek for replacement technologies. I think it's very difficult when you're dealing with certain types of equipment, as the Minister said. So I just wanted to get a sense of what we actually look at and what's possible and what's useful fundamentally when we're trying to deliver on the climate change strategy and meet our net-zero goals, our 2050 net-zero goals. And that's probably a broader conversation...

Would that information -- sorry, thank you, Mr. Chair. Would that information be useful to our climate change planning to -- and implementation of our strategy and our goals to reduce emissions? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Later today my honourable friend from Yellowknife Centre will be tabling a survey authored collaboratively between us about health care experience in the Northwest Territories. This work expands on the joint town hall that we undertook in the summer attended by over a hundred people. I invite the House and the public to read the survey and note that while 59 percent of respondents rated their quality of care as excellent, only 25 percent were satisfied with their overall health care experience. Here's what some of them had to say, quote:

Stop saying it's a staffing issue...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Canadian government's pumping billions of dollars into health care right now. This is not -- this problem is a northern problem. So what's the Minister's northern solution? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, right now we have a system that competes with itself as I said. This is not coming from my analysis; this is coming from health care workers, doctors, nurses, allied health care professionals. Why has the choice been made to prioritize locum contracts, temporary workers, and agency nurses over full-time staff? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm looking for accountability as well, and I hear this refrain that it's the governance council that's in charge; it's not the Minister, there's only so much she can do. So why are these -- why are we not bringing the governing council to listen to these meetings? It doesn't matter if it's Stanton. They're responsible for the entire thing. The individual wellness council's, fine. But the overall management of the system and oversight of the system is one body so why are they not being involved with this effort?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the health care worker I spoke to about the recent round of engagements within the system the Minister's undertaking and the authority's undertaking said, quote: We don't need more opportunities for feedback. The reason health care workers don't feel heard is because there's never any real action or bold moves on the feedback we've given for years.

So I'd like to ask the Minister of health today, in these town halls that she's having with health care workers what is she hearing? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And that number is $200 billion over ten years. So, you know, I appreciate that it's going to be divvied out in different places. We need to have a resolution to this. We need to find a way to retain workers. This is a blockage that's been identified to me. Will the Minister at least commit to doing an exploration of this, working with staff, working with the whole team, and coming up with a solution that's meaningful, impactful, and will actually solve this problem instead of just more listening exercises? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, is the Minister willing to look at the length of contracts? A six-month contract means the worker's going to stay in the Northwest Territories for at least a longer time commitment. We're talking about contracts that are two days long, that are a week long. Will the Minister commit to stopping that practice and ensuring contracts are long enough to keep people in the North and keep money in the North and keep continuity of care in the North? Thank you.